


We Can Do This

by MaddieandChimney



Series: 911 Week 2020 [3]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-09
Updated: 2020-07-09
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:14:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25165252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaddieandChimney/pseuds/MaddieandChimney
Summary: This is definitely not how Maddie imagined giving birth. She was meant to have Chimney’s hand in her own, not her brother’s. They were not meant to be in the middle of another L.A disaster.Day 3 of 911 Week - “We can do this.” + Hurt
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley & Maddie Buckley, Maddie Buckley/Howie "Chimney" Han
Series: 911 Week 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1823050
Kudos: 58
Collections: 9-1-1 Tales





	We Can Do This

This isn’t exactly how she had planned on giving birth. They’d had a birthing plan, one Athena had scoffed at when she heard about but one that Maddie was absolutely determined to stick to as best she could. Nothing could go wrong, her and Chimney had seen and been in enough pain in both their lifetimes that she had naively convinced herself the birth would go smoothly.

She was meant to be in a hospital, not some underground parking lot of the local mall.

She was meant to be surrounded by nurses and doctors, people who knew what they were doing, not the rubble and constant beeping of car alarms around them.

She was meant to have Chimney’s hand in her own, not her brother’s.

Yes, another earthquake hitting LA when she was thirty-six weeks pregnant, that was most definitely not the plan.

Maddie can’t stop the broken sob that falls from her lips, her hand tightening in Buck’s as she shakes her head. “C-can’t… can’t do it… not here. Can’t… give birth to her here, Buck. Please don’t let it be here.” It’s pointless begging him, knowing there’s nothing he can do to ease the contractions right then. He’s feeling just as helpless as she is, desperate, tear-filled eyes looking so desperately at his big sister.

“I know this isn’t in the birthing plan, Maddie. I know this isn’t what you and Chimney wanted but I need you to stay calm, okay? We can do this. Me and you? We’re Buckley’s, we can do anything and this baby is half Buckley, too… so the three of us? Yeah, we got this, Maddie.” The hand that isn’t squeezing her own, presses against her forehead, pushing her hair back from her forehead.

“W-we can do this?”

There’s a fresh determination in his eyes now when he nods his head and let’s go of her hand for the first time, “Absolutely. Forget everything that’s going on around us now and just focus on me, focus on meeting your daughter. The guys, they know we’re here, Chimney is going to be fighting so damn hard to find us.”

“S-stupid earthquake.” She whines, throwing her head back against the jacket Buck had bunched up and put behind her head, eyes closing when the tears start to fall. It’s hard to push back the embarrassment when her brother moves into position the next time a contraction hits, wishing he could just hold hand and tell her it’s going to be okay instead. But her daughter needs help getting into the world and apart from Chimney, there’s no man she trusts more.

“They’re really close together now, do you feel like you need to push?” Her bottom lip trembles as she nods her head, tilting her head back up so she can look at him. Her elbows dig into the concrete floor, teeth gritting together before she pushes.

“N-not looking, are you?” She gasps out, the moment she feels capable, her chest tight as she looks at her little brother.

“Maddie, I think that’s probably on the bottom of the list of things to worry about right now, don’t you?”

It’s hard to get used to the thought of him being the sensible one, a serious expression on his face, his head shaking. She knows he’s right – it just seems too crazy that they had been laughing hours before, shopping for the impending arrival of her little girl before the earthquake hit. The world had come crumbling around them – literally – in a matter of seconds.

It’s not until her brother is shouting that he can see the head that she starts to panic – the baby is early, not dangerously so but _early_ and she doesn’t know if help is going to arrive anytime soon. They’re stuck – Buck’s head is bleeding, he’s probably got injuries he’s hiding from her judging by the grimace on his face with each movement, and she’s sure she’s at least sprained her wrist and injured her shoulder in some way from the impact of hitting the floor. The sudden realisation that they’re completely and utterly alone hits her, causing her to freeze as her chest gasps for air.

“Maddie, Madeline—I know, I know you’re scared, I’m scared too, but I need you to push. You have to push.” Buck is frantic, desperate eyes searching hers when she takes a deep breath and nods her head. It’s not the time to spiral, it’s not the time to worry when she’s about to bring a whole new life into the world. She just longs, more than anything, it was under completely different circumstances.

His words are enough for her to break free from her own thoughts, the seriousness and anguish in his voice forcing her into pushing once again. “There we go, there we go! You got this, you’re doing so good, so, so good. I’m so proud of you, Maddie.”

It seems as though hours have passed before she hears the first cries of her daughter, her own sobs of relief and exhaustion joining her barely seconds later. “She’s here! She’s here and she’s absolutely perfect. Oh my god, Maddie, she’s perfect. Tiny like her mommy and daddy but so, so perfect.” It’s hard to open her eyes, but she does anyway the moment her brother has placed the crying baby on her chest.

There are tears falling down his cheeks, a huge smile on his face before he tilts down ever so slightly to press his lips to her forehead. “Help is coming, you just enjoy her and I’ll look after the both of you. The 118 won’t leave us behind, I promise.”

Maddie sniffs, hand gently moving through her thick, black hair, just breathing her in, “Amelia Joy…” She whispers, never having said the name out loud to anyone other than Chimney, a sad smile on her face when she thinks of the man who had so longed to be there, to see his daughter come into the world.

“That’s a beautiful name, Mads.”


End file.
